Art Choices at BCS: Photography

Wednesday, December 05, 2018 -
By: Marta G, Mackenzie ‘19

When I arrived at Brentwood this September from Italy with my academics choices already figured out (more or less) I was very surprised and interested when my advisor told me that each student, in addition to a sport, had to pick two arts to attend. These arts would run throughout the course of the year.

I believe this is a great rule that the school follows because, especially in the society we are living in today, in which everything is focused on technology and social media, it is important for students to have a space in which they can truly express themselves with both performance, visual, technical & communication arts. The school currently offers 31 arts options on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons. A student can select up to four from this smorgasbord.

I really had no idea how I would decide which ones to attend. There were so many options that looked very interesting that I’ve heard of but have never tried so in the end I decided to choose something I knew a little about: photography. Since I was little I’ve always had a passion in taking pictures; I’ve always enjoyed it.

I’ve always believed that for a photographer to succeed, some steps need to be followed and that the most important one is that every photographer should aim to capture a significant element - that can go from a landscape to a particular moment or a feeling expressed by a character. This element should make the person who stops and looks at the picture think it through. Each picture should, in fact, have an impact. These are aspects that you can definitely find in Steve McCurry’s photographic galleries. He is one of the best current artist that I personally appreciate very much.

These aspects that I’ve just discussed were part of one of the latest classes held by Mr Paul Fletcher, the course’s teacher. He’s very passionate about teaching us all the things and specific aspects he has learned in his career as a professional photographer and sometimes I think that having a strict teacher helps you to become a more accurate and competitive student, two very important qualities.

The most interesting thing that I have not mentioned yet is that being part of the Beginner Photography class, I wasn’t allowed to enter the digital program. For this reason I had the opportunity to go back in time by using film cameras, developing negative sheets without wasting many shots - which is a mistake that can easily be made with digital cameras.

This is an attitude I share with Maya and Isys, two current students who have decided to attend this interesting and very exciting course who, in addition to this, believe that being part of Photography “makes you look at things in a different way.” By analyzing minimal elements and we have managed to understand that “big results can be achieved through time and hard work.”

With all this information I hope you’ll understand the big opportunity that this school has provided us. We have the possibility to take part in arts, such as this one. I’ll always remember to take a picture not just because something may look pretty but because it has significance.